City in Perthshire, Scotland
Perth
Perth once hosted a king's murder, a Reformation riot and a clan battle with 30 men a side, and its football club is named after a nickname for the town.
Key information
- County
- Perthshire
- Nation
- Scotland
- Population
- about 47,000 (2011 Census)
- Known for
- The Stone of Destiny, the River Tay, whisky blending, St John's Kirk
- What locals are called
- Perthites
- Famous people
- John Buchan, John Dewar, James I of Scotland
About Perth
The city that Walter Scott called fair
Perth's nickname, the Fair City, comes from Sir Walter Scott's 1828 novel The Fair Maid of Perth. The book's heroine, Catherine Glover, was invented, but the label stuck so firmly that it now appears on everything from council signage to local businesses. It also gave the place a second identity. Perth was once known as St Johnstoun, after the church of St John the Baptist at its heart, and that older name lives on in the football club. The town sits on the River Tay, Scotland's longest river, at the point where the Lowlands start to give way to the Highlands. That is why it earned the title Gateway to the Highlands.
A capital in all but name
For long stretches of the Middle Ages, Perth was the place where Scottish kings held court and parliaments met. Just up the river is Scone, where Scottish monarchs were crowned on the Stone of Destiny. That royal pull had a dark side. In 1437 King James I was murdered in the Blackfriars monastery in Perth by a band of conspirators. His killers were hunted down and executed in gruesome fashion, and the court moved to Edinburgh soon afterwards. As for the Stone itself, it came home to Scotland in 1996 after 700 years in Westminster Abbey. Since 2024 it has been on display in Perth Museum, in the old City Hall in the middle of the city.
The sermon that started a riot
In May 1559, John Knox preached a fiery sermon against idolatry in St John's Kirk. Afterwards, a crowd set about stripping the religious houses of the town, and the Reformation in Scotland was well and truly under way. St John's still dominates the High Street area. Parts of it date back to the 15th century, and it remains one of the city's best-known buildings. Perth also staged one of the strangest set-piece fights in Scottish history. In 1396, on the North Inch, 30 men of Clan Chattan fought 30 of Clan Kay before King Robert III and his court, in a battle meant to settle a feud.
Whisky, dye and the Tay
Perth made its money from the river. Salmon fishing, linen and trade built the town, and in the 19th century the city became an industrial centre in its own right. The most famous name is Pullars of Perth, the dyeing and cleaning firm whose reach spread far beyond the city. Perth also became a whisky town. John Dewar founded his business here in 1846, and Dewar's became one of the great blended Scotch brands. Bell's is another whisky name linked with the city. The handsome Perth Bridge across the Tay was designed by John Smeaton and finished in 1771. It still carries traffic into the heart of the city.
Green spaces, soldiers and a football double
Two huge public parks, the North Inch and the South Inch, run down to the river and give the city a notably open feel. Both have been used for sport and ceremony for centuries. Balhousie Castle, a short walk from the North Inch, is home to the Black Watch Museum, telling the story of one of Scotland's most famous infantry regiments. Then there is St Johnstone, who play at McDiarmid Park. The club won its first major trophy, the Scottish Cup, in 2014. In 2021 it did something even bolder and won both the Scottish Cup and the League Cup in the same season, a double that astonished most of Scotland.
Perth's favourite sons
John Buchan, the author of The Thirty-Nine Steps, was born in Perth in 1875. He went on to become a politician and, eventually, Governor General of Canada. John Dewar's name is still on bottles around the world. And James I, murdered here in 1437, remains the city's most dramatic royal story. Perth also holds a quirky piece of civic history. Its city status was lost in local government changes in the 1970s, then won back in 2012 during the Diamond Jubilee competition, and the Fair City has been celebrating the comeback ever since.
Related articles
Scotch Whisky
Published
Scotch whisky has to sit in an oak cask for at least three years, so every bottle on the shelf is a small act of patience, and some outlast their makers.